


We'll make them pay for the things that they did

by Shanny



Series: Que sont-ils devenus, ces enfants qu'on a déçus ? [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Draco is Sad, Harry's angry, Lucius is an evil shit, M/M, Ron Weasley is a Good Friend, THE BEST, What's new, but it gets better, mentions of depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23426494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shanny/pseuds/Shanny
Summary: Lucius decides to ruin the day, again, and Ron helps saving it. Also, he's full of surprises.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: Que sont-ils devenus, ces enfants qu'on a déçus ? [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680316
Comments: 2
Kudos: 71





	We'll make them pay for the things that they did

**Author's Note:**

> Hey it's me again! So here's my new addition to my little serie, I hope you like it. I'm sorry my summaries are so shitty..  
> Again english is not my first language so I apologise in advance for the mistakes, and a big thank you to my brother @umiwomitai for being my beta again.

Ron wouldn’t have thought he’d grow so fond of Harry and Draco, especially not so fast. He doesn’t make friends easily, but with them, it clicked instantly. As if they were meant to meet like that. 

If Ron had told Harry about the spare room, it was because he couldn’t afford rent on his own and his roommate had gone to live with her girlfriend. That, and Harry had seemed so desperate, each time they talked. He didn’t think they would actually become friends. 

It’s never been easy for him, being friends with other people. His mom always says it’s because he has to many siblings so he doesn’t know how to like people he’s never met before. Ron doesn’t say he doesn’t agree with her. It’s just that he doesn’t want to put too many efforts by fear of being disappointed. He’s mostly nice, there are many people he knows, he talks to them regularly, he’s just not really friends with them. Even if he does have some friends. He’s not an ermit. It just doesn’t come easily to him. 

But this time, it’s different. He feels like they belong together, the three of them. Of course, it’s not always easy. Harry and Draco are young, and they never had so much liberty, Ron has to remind them that they’re not alone, that he really doesn’t want to hear some things. Draco’s face was priceless that day. 

And sometimes, they fight, because they don’t agree, because they didn’t sleep well, or without any real reason. They all have their own personalities, and sometimes they clash. It’s normal, even if it’s frustrating. But they make it work. 

Ron was worried at first, because Hermione was the perfect roommate. She was always cleaning behind her, she respected his space, she didn’t comment (too much) on his terrible habits. He wasn’t sure Draco and Harry would do the same. After all, he didn’t know them very much. 

But his worries were vain. They’re so grateful for the room, they try to be the best roommates they can. The apartment is always clean, the fridge is always full, and there is almost always someone to come home to. This was the hardest part when leaving his parents’ house, being alone. His family home is always full of people, of noise, it was hard to face an empty apartment. But now he doesn’t have to. It’s like having new brothers. 

They watch movies together, they eat dinner, and they hang out with Ron’s other friends too. Mostly they exist together, in unison. 

He didn’t ask why they wanted to leave, why they needed to find an apartment so much, but Harry told him anyway. He told him about his parents, about Draco’s, about high school, about almost everything. Ron didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. 

But he understands why sometimes Draco stays in bed all day, tears in his eyes. He understands why Harry’s so angry he feels like breaking everything around him. He understands why they stay huddled up together in the couch, holding to each other for dear life. 

At first, on those days, he left them alone, because he couldn’t do anything to make it better. But now, after a few weeks of living together, he stays. He tries to distract them from their pain, and sometimes it works. They play video games, they go out, they drink. Draco said to him once, that they liked it better when he was here. He was so shy and his face was burning, but he meant it. It was nice knowing someone cared about their happiness. 

It’s like coming home, even if it’s another family. Ron thinks it’s nice. 

Ron is sitting in the parking lot, smoking, when Harry comes to sit with him. He doesn’t smoke inside, it’s a habit he picked up when he lived with Hermione, and he doesn’t mind so much. He’s mostly outside anyway. Sometimes Harry comes sit with him, even if he doesn’t smoke. It’s almost always after a bad day. 

“Hey, Ron” Harry says, resting his back on the wall. Ron smiles to him and pats his shoulder. 

“Hey. Bad day?” he asks. It’s written all over Harry’s face. 

And he already knew before that. When he woke up this morning, Draco was still in bed even if he was supposed to work, and there was broken glass in the bin. Something must have happened. 

“You can’t even imagine” Harry says humorlessly, and he puts his head on Ron’s shoulder. 

“Where is Draco?” Ron hopes they didn’t fight. They generally don’t, but when they do it’s like there was a hurricane in the apartment. But if Draco’s not with them, it must be because he doesn’t want to see Harry. 

“At work. He had to go and do the hours he didn’t do this morning.” Harry replies, but he doesn't sound angry. That’s a relief. They didn’t fight. 

Draco doesn’t really like his job, but Harry and Ron don’t either. They had to take what was available. It pays the rent and the food, and they find happiness elsewhere. At least Draco’s boss is nice enough to understand when he doesn’t show up. Somewhere else, he could easily be fired. 

Harry is silent, but Ron knows he has something to say. He doesn’t talk much about the things that are hurting him. He’s too used to being on his own, too used to taking everything in. 

“Draco’s parents sent a text this morning.” he finally says, voice trembling. 

Since they moved in with him, Draco’s parents regularly send texts to say how disappointed they are in their son. They say they don’t understand why he’d do something like that, after everything they did for him. They say they hope he ends up in the street because it’s all he deserves. Well, not his parents. His father. Ron couldn’t understand how parents could act like that, but his own were so loving and so caring, it’s unthinkable they’d do such a thing. 

“I can’t understand how they can do things like that to him.” Harry says, his voice so sad Ron kind of wants to cry. “I could fucking kill them you know. It’s like they want to break him down, they want him to be so fucking miserable he won’t be able to recover.” 

Ron stays silent, because he doesn't know what to say. There really is nothing to say. 

“What if they did it? What if he’s broken, and I’m too late?” Harry whispers, so low, as if he’s afraid he’ll speak it into existence. Ron’s heart clenches in his chest. 

“But he’s not. He’s so happy when you’re together, I swear I’ve never seen anything like that.” Ron says, smiling. And he’s not even lying to make Harry feel better, it’s true.

Draco is literally shining when he’s with Harry. He’s always smiling and laughing. Even when he is sad and crying, Harry just has to come and hug him, and Draco is smiling again. But maybe Harry only sees when he’s crying. Maybe he doesn’t see how good he is to Draco. 

“You really saved him, you know?” Ron adds, and Harry looks up at him, eyes wide. 

“You think so?” Ron nods. He doesn’t think so, he knows. 

They’re so good for each other. And even if their lives are sad, even if they could have better situations, they did the best they could with what they were given. Sure, Harry could be calmer, he could have gone to university if he hadn’t be expelled from school, Draco could live with his parents a wealthy life. But they didn’t have a choice. They could have done a lot worse, but they didn’t. For each other. And it was really saying something, at least for Ron. It was good enough. 

“I never saw a love like yours.” he adds, and Harry smiles. Deep down, he knows it too. 

Harry’s phone rings before he can speak again. He takes it in his pocket and replies. 

“Draco? Everything’s fine?” Harry clenches his jaw and he spares a look at Ron. More bad news. “Seriously?!” Harry’s fuming now, his hand shaking with the force he’s holding the phone with. Really bad news. “No, you don’t go! I’m serious Draco! You stay at work, I’m handling it. I’ll come pick you up when it’s done.” Draco says something and Harry rolls his eyes. “Of course I’m not going to do anything like that. I’ll go with Ron, if it’s making you feel better.” Ron perks up a the mention of his name but Harry just shrugs. “Yeah, promise I won’t use it. Love you.” 

He hangs up and looks at Ron with sad eyes. 

“What happened?” Ron asks carefully. 

“His father called to say if he didn’t come pick up the rest of his stuff today, he’d throw it away.” 

That’s a low blow, Ron knows it. Draco took as much as he could, but he obviously couldn’t take it all. After everything, his father still finds new ways to make him miserable. As if he hadn’t done enough. 

“Well, we’re going then” Ron says and he gets up, lifting Harry by the hand. “We’ll stop by my mom’s house, she’ll let me use her car.”

He calls her, but she says she’ll bring it to him. She even offers to drive them where they need to, but he declines. He suspects Harry wouldn’t be too comfortable with his mom being with them. He tells her she can wait in his apartment if she wants to, while he’s gone but she just laughs. She says she’s not old enough she can’t walk back to the house on her own. Ron doesn’t say it’s more logical that he walks, she won’t listen to him anyway. 

“She’ll bring it in a few minutes, we can wait here.” he informs Harry.

“Okay. I’m just gonna get something from the apartment then.” And he disappears inside. 

Ron lights up another cigarette and when Harry comes back, he frowns. Leather jacket, baseball bat in hand, fury in his eyes. This is probably not a good idea. 

“Harry, shouldn't you leave the bat here?” he suggests, but doesn’t press when Harry shakes his head. 

“‘M not gonna use it, I promised Draco. But I’m taking it.” he replies, and Ron doesn’t add anything. After all, he doesn’t know Draco’s father. 

Harry doesn’t say anything during the trip, and Ron doesn’t know what to talk about. He knows what happened, but he doesn’t really know the details. At some point he became too afraid to ask, because Draco really looks traumatised. It’s not really his business either.

He lets his mind wonder. Will Draco’s dad look antipatic, or will he look nice, random? Will he look friendly and kind, while he’s neither of those things? Would he be able to tell by just looking at his face that he’s a horrible person? 

They stop in front of a huge house and Ron can’t help but being baffled. It’s a fucking mansion. He looks at Harry, who’s taking deep breaths, so he waits without talking. He’s just a little shocked that this is what Draco’s house looks like. He kind of figured his family was rich, but being in front of it, it seems insane. Who lives in a house like this, these days? 

“Do you want me to go alone?” Ron asks after a few minutes of silence. Maybe Harry should stay in the car. 

“No!” Harry shouts. “You wouldn’t know what to take.” he adds more gently, and Ron shrugs. He doesn’t mind Harry’s outbursts. He supposes if the one he loved was harassed by their own parents, he would act the same. He hopes he never finds out. 

They get out of the car and Harry exhales loudly. 

“If I’m going crazy, you have to take the bat away.” he says and Ron nods, his eyes wide. That doesn’t sound promising. 

He rings at the gate, and they make their way through the garden. Harry takes a few more seconds before he’s knocking on the door. They wait a moment, then it opens wide and a man appears. Ron stays shocked. He knows this man! He fucking knows him! It’s this political asshole who’s always trying to make life more difficult for the ‘troubled youth’. He made a shelter close just last week, and Ron and his friends were at the manifestation.  _ This  _ is Draco’s  _ father _ ? No doubt he’s traumatised. This guy is a colossal jerk. 

“What do you want?” he barks at Harry’s face, but Harry doesn’t even flinch. 

“I’m here to collect Draco’s stuff.” he says, as calmly as he can. The man just laughs. 

“Why can’t he come himself? Too afraid? Well he should be.” Ron frowns. “And who’s that behind you? Another charity case like you? You’re all the same to me anyway,” he adds, in a dispising tone. 

Ron isn’t sure he’ll take Harry’s bat away. He might take it from his hands just to use it himself. He didn’t know this guy had kids. Poor Draco. 

“We’re just here to pick his stuff up,” Harry says again, face blank. 

“Well go ahead. I can’t wait to get rid of his junk.” They come into the house, and just has Harry’s passing by him, Draco’s father adds, “He should be grateful I didn’t throw it away.” But Harry doesn’t comment. He just keeps walking, and Ron follows him quietly. 

They get into Draco’s room and Harry sits on the bed for a second. Ron wants to tell him that it’s going to be okay, that they are going to be just fine, but he doesn’t know for sure, so he doesn’t say anything. Maybe this is just the start of a fucking shit show. 

“Okay.” Harry says, rising to his feet. “We put boxes under his bed when we left, in case we had to come and pick the rest up. We’ll just throw everything we can in them, and then we’ll be out.” 

And that’s what they do. Harry takes the things, and he gives them to Ron who puts them in the boxes. There are photos, books, clothes, memories. Parts of Draco’s life, parts of his childhood. He finds it extremely sad that Draco still clings to it, even after everything. Harry takes everything he can, even a photograph of Draco and his parents. He tells Ron, if he had a choice, he would have burned it all, house and parents with it. Ron says he’s glad he didn’t do it. He says he’s not really fond of prisons, he wouldn’t want to visit Harry there. Harry is kind enough to smile, even it doesn’t reach his eyes. 

About an hour later, everything is packed and in the car, and Draco’s father is looking at them from the door, a mean sneer on his face. Harry walks up to him, and Ron follows. Maybe he should have taken the bat when Harry wasn’t looking. 

“What? You’re not finished yet? I doubt there was anything valuable in all of his faggot’s trash.” He says it on purpose, just to rile Harry up, to make him lose his cool. 

“We are finished. I just want to tell you something.” Harry comes closer to him, threatening. “Don’t send messages to Draco again. I know it’s you. I swear if you write to him again, I’ll come back and I’ll beat you up so bad even your wife won’t recognise you. Don’t forget what I did to those kids, and I didn’t hate them as much as I hate you. I’m not scared of you,” he growls, and he doesn’t let Draco’s father reply. 

They go back to the car, and Ron finds him terrifying. He doesn’t doubt for a second that Harry’ll do it. Draco’s father insults them when they pass the gates, but Harry doesn’t even pause to listen to him. He doesn’t look back. 

Ron starts the car, and when the house is out of sight, Harry bursts into tears.

“God I could fucking kill him!” he yells, hitting the dashboard with his fist and Ron pulls the car on the side of the road. 

He puts his hand on Harry’s shoulder. He wants to help Harry. He wants to help Draco too. He doubts this will be the last they’ll hear about him. He thinks for a second, and he waits for Harry to be a bit calmer before he talks. 

“You know, there are ways to get back to him, without burning his house down, and that don’t involve murder.” he says as calmly as he can, and Harry looks at him, curious. 

The thing is, Ron never talked to him about he does with his friends. About their late nights excursions in the business district with bomb paints in their bags, about their manifestations in the streets, about their riots. “Young group of activists” the press says. That’s not what they are. They are just young people, so tired of being forgotten or put aside just because their families aren’t rich, just because they aren’t useful to powerful people. They don’t want to do bad. They just want others to do right by them. They want the people in charge to help the one who need it the most. 

But they do bad. What they are doing, it’s basically illegal. If his mother knew, she’d probably bring him to the police station herself. But he got enough. One day he decided he wouldn’t stand by and watch them do what they wanted without consequences. He just wants everyone to have the same chances. 

He never planned to tell Harry and Draco. He knows he would have had to tell them, at some point. But not this soon, not like that. But if Draco is Malfoy’s son, he has to. He has to give Draco the choice. It wouldn’t be fair not to. He just hopes Draco doesn’t call his father right away to denounce him. He would be fucked. 

“I’ll tell you at home. I know I’m being mysterious and shit, but I have to tell Draco too. I’d rather not say it twice, if you don’t mind.” he finally says, and Harry laughs. He’s still crying, so it’s more a strangled laugh than anything else, but he laughs. Ron can’t say he expected this reaction, but it’s not the first time Harry surprises him. 

He drives the car back on the road, heading home.

“Draco’s gonna fucking kill me.” Harry mumbles, but when Ron looks at him, he’s smiling. What a weird fucking guy. 

They pick Draco up from work, and he’s not in a good mood at all. He’s all shaky, he doesn’t talk in the car, doesn’t even ask whose car is it, and Ron is worried. Maybe he shouldn't tell them. Not because he doesn’t trust them, but because he doesn’t want to shake Draco even more. Learning your father really hates your guts  _ and  _ your roommate is the leader of a group who actively tries to sabotage said father may be too much for the same day. 

But he doesn’t have a choice. He has to explain what he meant to say to Harry, and Draco really deserves to know. Maybe he’s not as close to him that he is to Harry, but Ron likes Draco too. They are friends. 

So they sit in the living room, Draco cuddles against Harry on the sofa, and Ron sits on the coffee table. They share a beer, but Draco’s frowning at him. 

“Okay, I need to tell you guys something. I just want to start and say I’m sorry I didn’t talk about it sooner, but I really didn’t think I would have to.” he starts, and Draco looks sideways at Harry.

“I fucking told you he was a killer.” he says lowly. Ron can’t help but laugh and Harry rolls his eyes.

“Oh no, I can assure you I didn’t kill anyone!” Draco smiles at him, and Ron’s stomach rolls. He hopes he’s not going to ruin their little friendship. He really likes to live with them, they really do feel like family to him. So he says what he has to. 

He talks about his little group, what they do, why they do it. That he didn’t know who Draco was when they moved in. That he just realised today, seeing his father. He says he’s so sorry for saying it today, of all days. He says he understands if Draco is mad at him. He understands if he doesn’t want to talk to him ever again. He says he really hopes this won’t change anything between them, because he likes them. But he understands if it does. 

He’s talking so much, he’s not even looking at them anymore. He’s just pleading his case, explaining. He tries to make them see from his perspective. He doesn’t realise, the three of them are all the same. He doesn’t say everything, he doesn’t go over all the things he’s done against Draco’s father and other people like him. He doesn’t have to, they got the general picture. 

At some point, he shuts up and looks at them, because it’s so not like them to be silent. They usually talk at the same time and they usually almost don’t let him talk, even when it’s serious. And when he does look at them, he’s surprised to meet smiles. Granted, Draco is crying. But he cries all the time these days, so it’s not really saying anything. But he smiles at Ron. 

“Well, I told you he wasn’t a murderer.” Harry says, to lighten up the mood and Draco punches his shoulder. Ron suspects there is a inner joke here, one he doesn’t catch. He’ll ask later, when he’s not confessing anything. 

“I appreciate you telling me all of that.” Draco starts, sobs in his voice. “It’s really nice of you to do it. But you know, I don’t care what you do. I know who my father is, trust me I know better than anyone else. And I have really conflicted feelings about him.” Harry snorts at that, but he doesn’t say anything. “But I understand where you’re coming from. I know what he did, I know his views on things. And I really don’t care if you’re protesting his decisions on the streets, or if you’re bombing his fucking car. God knows he deserves it. I just don’t want you to see me like you see him. You didn’t know I was his son, but now you do. You need to know I don’t see the world like him. I guess you know, since I’m sitting here in your living room and you went to pick up my stuff this afternoon. What I’m trying to say is, no matter what he’ll do, no matter what he’ll decide, you need to know I don’t agree with him. And I never will.” he says in a firm tone, but Ron sees he’s insecure. 

How many people must have judged Draco just because he is his father’s son? And how many more judged when he turned out not being at all like his father? He must be so used to it by now, he doesn’t even expect a different reaction. Well, except for Harry, of course, but that goes without saying. One person’s good opinion doesn’t erase all the negative ones. 

Harry’s looking at Ron with wary eyes, waiting for him to talk. Ron has to be careful with his words, because if he says the wrong thing, Harry will jump at him. Well maybe not, but they’ll be over. He saw him with Draco’s father earlier, and he knows Harry won’t stop at anything to protect Draco. But if they are still here, listening to him explain, Harry must think he has something good to say. 

Ron wants to be the one to prove them wrong, that not everybody will be against them, no matter what they did, no matter who they love. He’d be a fucking hypocrite if he did. He scoots closer to them, and he holds his hands for them to hold. He feels stupid for doing so, like he’s making himself important, like he’s staging his life. They still take his hands. 

“I don’t care who your father is, Draco. You didn’t choose him. And I know you are not sitting here because he’s loving and accepting, and I’m sorry about that. But I can promise you, I really do not care. We’re not in a fucking movie, we’re not at war. We’re just lost children who found each other. So if you don’t mind me tagging your father’s office, I don’t mind you being his son. At least one of us can us the excuse that he didn’t choose.” he says, feeling dramatic. 

But Draco’s laughing now, and Harry is too. 

They’ll talk about everything else later, he’ll explain what they want to know. But for now it’s good enough. 

Harry decides they can treat themselves after a day like that, so they order take out, they drink more beer, they sing loudly to the music. And Ron feels closer to them, and it’s a heartwarming feeling. Harry says thank you for coming today, for not judging Draco, for being nice, and Ron brushes it off. It’s called human decency. 

But later, Draco comes to him, and he talks in a small voice. He says nobody told him what Ron said today. He says as long as Ron sees Draco, and not Draco Malfoy, he’ll be fine. He says thank you, for being a friend he didn’t know he needed. 

“Thank you for making us feel like we belong to something. Thank you for not making us feel like mistakes, for once.” Draco chokes on the words, but he still says them. 

Ron gives him a little hug. 

“You can always count on me.” he says, smiling to him, smiling to Harry who’s watching from afar, and he has never been more sincere in his life. 

He’s sure there are gonna be problems in the future, it won’t be always easy like this. But for now it’s fine. For now it’s enough. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Come say hi on Tumblr: Imbiasfuckbabes
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


End file.
